


Into the Unknown

by Rainbow_Trout



Series: Whumptober 2020 [15]
Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: F/M, Gen, Merlin - Freeform, Mystery Fic, Mystery Illness, Unknown Cause, Whumptober 2020, sick!Casey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:13:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27188456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainbow_Trout/pseuds/Rainbow_Trout
Summary: Whumptober - day fifteen - magical healingI debated whether or not to post this fic in two parts, but ultimately decided yes! Partially because of the length, but also because I wonder whether anyone will be able to guess what's happening with Casey!
Relationships: Matthew Casey & Kelly Severide, Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Series: Whumptober 2020 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953733
Comments: 13
Kudos: 30
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Into the Unknown

Firehouse fifty-one was bored. Really bored. Nothing had happened for the whole of shift. Not a single call.

And that was boring.

Casey had even run out of paperwork to do, which was almost unheard of. He hadn’t been able to justify staying in his office – not that he wanted to – which was how he’d found himself sitting on the couch, watching one of Otis’ favourite television series, _Merlin._ He was almost enjoying it, too, somewhat captivated in the ventures of the young warlock saving Camelot.

Of course, he wasn’t going to admit that.

Then, just as one of the episodes was getting particularly interesting, the bells went off, and Casey immeaditely pushed it to the back of his mind as he moved towards the apparatus floor, pulling on his turnout gear and jumping into his Lieutenant’s seat.

Otis had clearly pushed the show to the back of his mind as well, driving with record speed to the accident scene. As they pulled up, everyone muttered under their breath – this was clearly one of those one percent households that they’d all heard about. But that couldn’t affect their jobs, and everyone was quick as they jumped out, Casey already assessing the scene.

The fire was fully engaged in the lower story, but it was nowhere near as severe as they’d seen before. The entire family was out, so all they had to do was go in and douse the flames, so they donned their gear, before setting to work. 

Entering the house – no, at this point they could call it a mansion – had been a shock to them all, especially Casey. He’d never seen anything quite like this and had never imagined it to be possible. Almost all of the walls were marble – good, not as easy to burn – and there was a _water feature_ in the entryway. That’s right, a _water feature._ Immaculately clean, with clear water, and strange, blue flowers – a few of which were burning. Casey just shook his head and did his best to ignore it, instead instruction Truck, Squad and Engine to take strategic places.

There was still a surprising amount of smoke given the marble walls, and Casey knew that meant there might be foundational damage. Because the foundations were almost always made of wood, and the insulation – no matter how high quality – was almost always flammable.

Casey gave the order to turn on the hoses, keeping an eye on scene. But every man on his company was very capable, and he wasn’t too worried.

That was, until he heard a raspy cough.

He glanced straight up, locating the source. A man was staggering down the stairs – someone who was evidently not part of their family. He was wearing blue overalls and shouted out again.

Dammit.

The _family_ had gotten out… but they’d not spoken for the workers.

God, he hated people sometimes. 

He wasted no time in racing up the stairs, noticing that the man was quite altered for the amount of smoke he’d inhaled. But years of experience told him he couldn’t be so quick to judge – he had no idea if he had underlying medical conditions.

He knelt beside him, checking his respiration and pulse. Both of which were surprisingly strong – much to Casey’s confusion. But there could still be something else going on, and he didn’t hesitate before ripping off his own mask, securing it to the man’s face.

Breathing in, he decided that the concentration of smoke wasn’t a risk to his health, not if he was only carrying the man out. So, he raised his radio, ordering the paramedics to be ready before lifting.

He made his way down the stairs, taking shallow breaths. Because even if the smoke wasn’t overly concentrated, he knew not to risk his lungs. That, and it smelt a little odd… but he wasn’t going to let that stop him.

After all, it was probably only a minute before he was out, marching straight over to the gurney and dumping his body down. He was still clearly altered, wide eyes staring up at Casey, “Are you a spaceman…”

Casey frowned, perplexed, glancing over to Brett, who had heard. Brett offered him an equally confused glance but waved him away. Boden was floating nearby, and the man didn’t seem to be combative. Staying with her was a waste of expertise, and she was happy for him to go back where he was needed.

So, Casey made his way back to the building, not bothering with his mask as he entered. His ear that had been on the radio told him that the fire was almost out, so there was no real need for it.

Sure enough, as he entered, the environment was much more relaxed. Herrmann was smiling, hose off and ribbing Ritter. Otis was also heading back over, he and Kidd now satisfied that they’d doused the flames. Squad was still working on their area, but Casey could see that they were almost done.

He did his best to smile along with them, directing them to start overhaul. There wasn’t an awful lot for them to do, and they often didn’t feel as obliged when affluency was involved. Of course, they did what they had too… but they weren’t going to go above and beyond as they did in some neighbourhoods. Casey was hardly going to do free construction work.

They’d almost finished by the time Squad was done, and Kelly offered him a huge grin as he walked over, waving the hose in his hand. It had been quite a while since either of them had touched a hose, and Kelly was quick to make some brilliantly immature motions with it.

The Captain just rolled his eyes in response, playfully shoving Kelly’s shoulder. It was something he missed, sometimes, them being playful idiots. They had less and less opportunities to do it these days, but he looked forwards to when they were sitting on the couch, perhaps a little more than tipsy, watching the Hawks game. _We should do it again sometime,_ he mused, _maybe this weekend._

By now, they were all chatting amongst themselves, Kelly bright red as he held the hose near his crotch. He was squirting the flowers in the water feature – a few of which were still on fire, but they would burn out in their own time and not expand – and laughing his head off. Casey rolled his eyes at his immaturity but didn’t say anything. They rarely had the ability to do this – be this immature. Especially now that they held rank.

_Wait. Hadn’t he just thought that?_

Casey blinked, shaking his head slightly. He put his confusion down to the easy day they’d had – he’d been half asleep until recently, and maybe he still wasn’t completely awake.

Shaking his head, he nudged Kelly again, telling him to pack it up. It was nearing the end of the shift, and he just wanted to get back to the house.

Leaving the house, be blinked at the bright shock of light. He hadn’t realised how dark it had been in the building, all the lights being off, but here, the sun was shining. He blinked again, shaking his head as he glanced back to ambo. Brett was still securing the victim, though it was apparent she was almost finished.

His feet moved without command, hands flittering by his side. Brett always made him nervous, more so than usual recently, but he wasn’t in the least bit anxious as he looked her over. She was standing with her hands on her hips, frowning slightly at the man. Now that he was closer, he could see that he was still lying against the gurney, nonsense babbling from his lips, “Is he okay?”

Sylvie jumped slightly, before turning back to him. She wasn’t used to Casey approaching her on a scene – in fact, he often stood his distance. Which was a disappointment. She would love to see more of him.

“Uh… he’s high. Taken something… not quite sure what, but his pupils were blown… probably wasn’t from smoke inhalation.”

Casey’s eyes widened as he nodded, but didn’t get the chance to respond as the mother of the house came over, “Sorry, did you say he was high? In my house?! That’s a disgrace!”

Without thinking, Casey immeaditely stepped between her and Brett part of his brain telling him to protect her, “Ma’am, I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation…”

But the woman was already shaking her head, gesturing at the man. On a logical level, Casey understood that she was probably stressed – her house had just been on _fire_ – but he still didn’t appreciate her tone as she hissed, “I wasn’t paying him to do _drugs._ ”

Casey was about to respond, when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. Glancing down, he noticed that it was Boden’s hand, the battalion Chief ordering him to step down with a simple glance. Reluctantly, he nodded, Boden starting to work his magic to distract the woman as Brett continued to work. He blinked, mind slightly cloudy, before realising that Boden had turned back to him, “Take everyone back to the house, Captain.”

He nodded, turning back to the fire trucks and gesturing with his hand. Everyone seemed to be happy to be going. Now that the fire was out, they were bored, and wanted to get back to the house.

They all climbed back in their respective vehicles, and Casey wasn’t surprised when the conversation drifted to the topic of the wealthy family, and their frankly appalling treatment of their workers.

He closed his eyes for a moment, suddenly feeling drained, despite the ease of the call. That did happen sometimes, especially when you went from inactivity to activity. He also wondered if he’d eaten enough that day… probably not. And very little protein. Carbs didn’t last nearly as long when you were running around, and he probably should have seen that coming.

_Oh well._

He drifted until Otis stopped the truck, killing the engine and crunching the hand break. Doors behind him opened, and Casey slowly opened his eyes. He glanced across to Otis, who was looking at him with concern, “Hey… you okay, Captain?”

He rolled his eyes slightly, grunting a confirmation, before turning and grabbing the handle. In honesty, he was getting really dizzy, and everything seemed a little too bright… he felt a little too close to passing out for his comfort, and decided that his first stop would be the snack cupboard. The only explanation he could think of was low blood sugar levels, and he _was_ hungry.

It didn’t take long for everyone to settle, Otis flinging his feet back up on the table, unpausing Merlin. Casey retrieved a bag of gummy bears before moving back to the couch, sitting beside Otis. The truck driver frowned as he turned towards him, raising a single eyebrow, “I thought you didn’t like gummy bears?”

Casey just grunted, shaking his head. He didn’t like gummy bears when they were in brownies, and sure he wasn’t too fond of them otherwise, but he needed the sugar. Shrugging, Otis grabbed a handful, shoving them in his own mouth.

A couple of minutes passed, and Casey found himself frowning. He hoped that he’d be feeling better now that he’d consumed some sugar, but he just felt increasingly dizzy. Everything was bright, and he felt as though he was coasting.

He took a slow blink, closing his eyes and resting his head in his hands. A hand landed on his shoulder, rubbing cautiously, “Hey, are you okay, Casey?”

Casey groaned, head slumping to the side as he tried to see the sound. A bearded man was looking back at him, concern glimmering in their brown eyes. Casey frowned, squinting slightly, “Lancelot?”

Otis froze, glancing to their brothers, before back to him, “Uh… no? It’s Otis…”

He found himself giggling – _giggling_ – as he shook his head, blinking slowly as he slurred, “Whose Otis? Nah… you’re… Lancelot…”

By now, Otis was looking terrified, glancing over to his brothers. All of them were equally as shocked. None of them would make jokes about this, least of all their stoic Captain.

Blue eyes filled with concern, Kelly took the opportunity to step forwards, assessing his brother, “Hey, Case… you okay? What’s going on?”

Slowly, Casey’s eyes moved over to his brother, before lighting up, “Arthur?”

Kelly blinked, taken back by his friend’s words. But he didn’t want to alarm him, instead moving to sit beside him, placing a hand on his chest, before glancing behind the couch, “Hey, yeah. It’s me… can someone check where the paramedics are?”

Cruz was quick to dash out, heading straight to the apparatus floor to radio main. None of them could possibly imagine what was wrong with Casey, and they were all terrified.

But for now, all they could do was try to keep their brother calm, and make sure he didn’t hurt himself. Which was proving to be an unbelievably easy task, Casey remaining half asleep against the couch as he stared at Severide, blinking tiredly every so often. Severide took it upon himself to watch his brother’s consciousness, making sure that he didn’t slip away, “Hey, hey, alright? You alright, bud? Stay with me… c’mon, Matty… stay with me…”

To Casey, it felt as though no time past before Cruz was re-entering, Brett and Foster in tow. Brett was already carrying a jump bag, eyes filled with anxiety as she moved towards Casey. As soon as she’d heard that something was wrong with Matt, her heart had leapt into her throat. There was a number of possibilities as to why he was behaving like this, and she didn’t like any of them.

She wasted no time in kneeling down in front of him, clicking on a penlight and checking his eyes, “Hey, Matt. How are you going?”

A giddy grin covered his face, blush rising in his cheeks. The penlight had confused him further, but he knew that voice, he knew it’s familiarity. Butterflies started fluttering around his stomach, and he tried to raise his head, “Freya?”

Ice went through Brett’s stomach, and she swallowed down her anxiety as she tried to remain professional. She had no idea who Freya was, but Casey’s eyes were dilated. He was on something. Just like the man at the fire had been.

That made her feel sick, because Med hadn’t known what the man had taken. It was the reason she and Foster had taken so long to return – because he’d maintained that he’d not taken anything, and his reaction wasn’t concurrent with any of the drugs they commonly saw in Chicago… they didn’t know what it was.

Her voice betrayed her nerves as she spoke, “Listen – Casey. When you rescued that man, did he touch you? Did he give you anything? Did you take it?”

It was a stupid question, because of course Casey hadn’t. But she needed to know, just in case it would save his life.

Sure enough, Casey blinked, confused. He frowned, trying to raise his head, “Huh? Not… not take… had gummy bears…”

Brett glanced across to the packet, hoping for _something_ , but Otis was already shaking his head, worry creasing his brow, “No… I had some as well, I feel totally fine… he was acting weird in the truck.”

Groaning, Brett turned back to Casey, knowing that she needed to get him hooked up to an IV, and then to med. Because she didn’t know what he’d taken – because she was still assuming that was the cause of Casey’s euphoria – she couldn’t give him anything, but she was still going to do her best, “Okay, Casey… we’re going to get you hooked up to an IV… then to the hospital. Okay?”

But Casey blinked, then shook his head, confused as to why Brett would think that was necessary, “Huh? No… nothing’s wrong… s’all okay?”

For a moment, Brett wasn’t sure what to say, but Severide saved her the trouble, stepping in and gripping his brother’s shoulder, “Yeah, it’s okay… you’re just… a little sick. Need some medicine to help you… heal.”

Still sluggish, Casey blinked, before glancing up at Severide, “Magical… magical healing?”

Trying his best to not be terrified, Severide forced a smile, nodding to Brett, “Uh… yeah. That’s right… magical healing…”

Tiredly, Casey nodded his consent, and Brett took the opportunity to place the IV, not knowing what they were dealing with and if Casey would still be consenting in a few minutes. He didn’t even flinch, and that only added to her worry.

“Brett, what do you need?”

She spun around, seeing Boden standing in the doorway, alarmed at the sight of his truck Captain slumped over the couch. Shaking her head, she ran a shaking hand through her hair, “The man we took in… they didn’t know what he’d taken, now Casey’s exhibiting the same symptoms. I mean we didn’t hang around Med for long… but…”

The battalion Chief held a hand up, stopping Brett before she could start panicking, “Okay, alright. Let’s just focus on getting him there… I’m sure that Med can look after him from there.”

She let out a breath, nodding as she turned back to Matt. He was still conscious, leaning back against the couch, and muttering something that sounded like, “Kilgharrah.”

Doing her best to banish the worry from her mind, she leant over Casey, rousing him before Kelly assisted her with moving him to the gurney. Boden was right. All she could do for now was get him to the hospital and wait for information.

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah... there'll be more Brettsey next chapter, and of course Sevasey. Does anyone know what happened to Casey? Maybe it's more obvious than I thought buttt...


End file.
